Roberto Bandieri: Amatrice earthquake reconstruction

Roberto’s surveying experience has been particularly crucial to the Italian region of Amatrice. The area was badly hit by an earthquake in August 2016, causing the tragic deaths of 297 people. In the wake of the earthquake, the Italian non-profit organisation Claps Furlans (Friulian stones) reached out to Roberto, seeking his expertise to help them with the reconstruction of the area.

3 November 2017

In order to ensure sustainable economic reconstruction, as well as physical, the project began by prioritising working land. For an area as rural as Amatrice, its population was dependent on the land in order to prosper.

As such, Roberto’s contribution included leading the team to rebuild wooden houses for cattle breeders and repair damaged cattlesheds. This led to a speedy recovery for the industry on which the region depended so heavily.

Like all sustainable infrastructure, the project went far beyond physical rebuilding, incorporating the redevelopment of the local economy into the design plan. Roberto and his team built a ‘community house’; a shared area for production, food service and sales. This created a culture of value within the local community and an integrated supply chain.

Roberto’s work even extended to education, teaching young people the value of rural areas, how to make best use of the supply chain to create value and how to understand the culture of the land. In this way, he successful incorporated standard and ethics into the reconstruction of Amatrice’s agricultural capability, ensuring his contribution will have a long-term impact on the future success of the area and cementing his place as a celebrated surveyor as RICS moves into its 150th year.

Pride in the Profession

2018 marks the 150th anniversary of RICS. To celebrate this milestone, we're launching our Pride in the Profession initiative to showcase the significant and positive impact surveyors have made to society. We've already dug into the archives to find some exceptional examples, like the one above. By promoting these incredible people and projects we want to demonstrate how varied and rewarding a surveying career can be.

To make it happen, we need you to nominate the people and projects you admire most.